The Gliding Frog

The gliding frog, much like the flying squirrel, can glide using it's flappy body as a parachute. Mother Nature gave these creature almost suction cups on the end of each of their toes, allowing them to climb up to the top of trees and glide from heights of about 5 feet. Not much to you and me, but to a small amphibian, quite a distance!

Gliding Frog

The gliding frog is a picky chooser when it comes to trying to find a good tree for a nest of eggs. It usually chooses one overhanging a swamp or marsh, where the babies can fall into the water and begin their life after hatching. The way of a gliding frog's egg hatching is very strange. The mother, after laying her egg, mashes it up with her feet till it looks like beaten egg whites, and the babies are born from that case of gel.

A different species of gliding frog can be found in Southeast Asia, but the true gliding frog is only found in the forests of Java, were it can feast on grasshoppers and other small insects.

Lammergeier ( Accipitridae )

The lammergier hunts in the high mountains of Europe, Africa, and Tibet, and is sometimes called the bearded eagle because of its short black beak. It is accused of things it doesn't do, such as flying away with babies, attacking people, and stealing cattle. What it does do is drop bones down on rocks, not for fun, but to get its food. It eats the bone marrow from inside cracked bones. The lammergier is not a killer; it seeks out bones that other animals have left behind.

The bird is scarce. In Paris there are only a few pairs left. The female only lays one egg, so population chances are decreasing. These may be the next thing to die out! If the female does happen to lay 2 eggs, she usually eats the second, as she lays them in winter. She knows that there will barely be enough food for the first baby, which will not be able to leave the nest for 3 months. The second egg will be eaten to give her nourishment.

Among other legends about the lammergier, excusing the lies about the child-killing, there is another faous legend: A Greek playwright by the name of Aeschylus was said to have been killed by a large turtle falling from the sky after an eagle mistook Aeschylus' head for a stone to crack the turtle shell on. If this event did take place, it is likely that the lammergier was the "eagle".

Badger ( Mustelidae )

The perfect example of the stinky clean- the badger. It digs its burrow, much like the other species in its family. But unlike the other species, the badger becomes the neat freak. It drags mosses, leaves, sticks, etc. into its burrow and transforms them into a cozy nest. It gets its waste cleaned out once a day, as well as changing its bed.

The smelly part of the badger comes from the musk gland, which all members of its family have. The badger is a nocturnal creature, that spends the day in its burrow with its family, or even families, only venturing out at night.  It is omnivorous, and eats roots, grasses, berries, small rodents, and even an occasional snake or two.

These creatures can be found all over the world, most commonly in Europe and Asia. The American and Chinese badgers differ in weight. The American badger typically stays at about 20-24 pounds, while the Chinese badger weighs in at about 40 pounds.

The Flying Squirrel ( Scuiridae )

The amazing animal hoax- the flying squirrel! This squirrel hardly "flies". What the "flying" squirrel does is leap from treetops, and as it falls, opens itself up like a parachute, slowing its fall and allowing it to land safely. Its tail acts as the controller and emergency brake for the squirrel, which has been known to fall from over 165 foot high trees. Kids, don't try this at home!

The flying squirrel eats mostly nuts, fruits, and small insects. It builds its nest inside dried out coconut shells. There is usually 2-4 young in one litter, and the lifespan is usually 11-13 years, unless they are caught by a bird or animal of prey. The mating season for these squirrels is from February to March. When the babies are born, they have no fur except whiskers, and the internal organs are visible through the skin. This makes their sex easy to determine.